Spiced cookies recipe

It's the warming touch of ginger coupled with a sweet sprinkling of cinnamon that makes these spiced cookies so irresistible.

Make 20 spiced cookies with this simple recipe. After making the mixture, you want to let it rest for half an hour to really allow these spices to infuse together. Then simply roll out, bake and tuck into these tasty treats when slightly cool. The festive seasonal spices make this recipe a must-make around Christmas. We suggest using Christmas-themed cookie cutters for an extra kitsch finish if you have them to hand.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp runny honey
• 30g (1oz) unsalted butter
• 60g (2oz) light muscovado sugar
• 250g (8oz) self-raising flour
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 2-4 tbsp juice
• 60g (2oz) ground almonds
• 1 large egg

To decorate:

• 50g (5oz) icing sugar, sieved
• Silver balls
• Parchment paper and baking sheets
• 5cm (2in) biscuit cutters
• Small plain piping nozzle
• Paper piping bag

Method

1. To make this cookie recipe, put the honey, butter and sugar into a small pan and stir over a low heat until the butter is melted.
2. Sieve the flour, ginger and cinnamon into a bowl. Add the lemon zest and ground almonds.
3. Pour the egg, melted mixture and lemon juice into the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together.
4. Knead the mixture on a lightly floured surface for a couple of mins, then wrap in cling film and pop in the freezer for 30 mins to firm up.
5. Set the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 180°C. Roll out the dough to a 5mm (¼in) thickness, on a parchment-lined surface, and stamp out the biscuit shapes. You should be able to get about 20. Push the tip of a tiny plain piping nozzle near the top edge of each biscuit, and lift out to make a hole.
6. Put the biscuits on to parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 15-20 mins until pale golden. Cool on a wire rack.
7. To decorate: Mix the icing sugar with 4 tsp hot water, to make a smooth icing. Spoon into a paper piping bag with the nozzle. Pipe icing on the biscuits and decorate with silver balls. Leave to set.

Top tips for making spiced cookies:

You could give these as a tasty tree-hanging gift at Christmas. Thread ribbon through a make-shift hole in the biscuits. Wrap in cellophane and gift away.

You might also like: 

Chocolate chip cookies

Sugar cookies recipe

Peanut butter cookies